Morning journal and courier., 1887-10-05
HENRY WARD BEECHEK.

A Touching and Eloquent EulOgy by
 His English Friend pr. Parker.
 BROOKLYN, Oct, 4.-The Academy of Music was packed tonight with brilliant and fashionable audience to haar the eulogy on Henry Ward Beecher delivered by Rev. pr. Parker, the English divine. Ex-Mayor Low and Pastor Halliday had prominent places on the platform. Mrs. Beeeher and a party of friends were present. Many Brook lyn preachers of prominence aud the officers of the Thirteenth regiment were also present. Rev. Dr. Charles H. Hall introduced the speaker. zDr. Parker claimed no fitness for the task assigned to him but his love for the dead, and as an Euglishman he thought he could could judge him better than Americans In analyzing MT. Beeoher's pulpit gifts Dr. Parker said: "Mr. Beecher was great with out toil, mighty without exhaustion, and so redundant were his pulpit miracles that they were in danger of being treated as common place. Other mems sermons were but his introductions. Where they said 'amen' to their own relief and the delight of many he said firstly when they had given out all their bread he began to load the tables with intellectual 1uxuries drawn from every field and vineyard accessible to pulpit genius. The monotony of mere framework or outline was forgotten in the multitude and vividness of the illustrations which turned abstract truth into concrete pictures. His words were innumer- able because his thoughts were countless. We have had great preachers in England. But MT. Beecher stood apart from them by the very fact that whilst they purchased their pulpit eminence by great expenditures of effort he was evidently free born. He toiled not, nor did he spin, yet the ornate pomp and classic unity of others were not to be compared with his artless simplicity"
 Dr. Parker, in considering the accusations sometimes mace that Mr. Beeche1 was not orthodox said that before answering the question whether he was or was not he would like to know who were the custodi- ans of orthodoxy. "I am prepared at once," said Dr. Parker, "to own that MT. Beecher's theology was impatient of system, form, or whatever looked like inality. He disliked all narrowness, sectarianism and heresy hunting. I will go further and say that we did not always know where MT. Beecher was in his theological thinking. Some of us could not follow him when he entered the radiant cloud and pass
 ed out of our sight, because some of us have no wings, and even those in whom there are are budding pinions, con only hutter, never fly. The microscope should find no fault with the telescope though the one can never do the work of the other. MT. Beecher's theo- logical speculation was te1escopic. He never returned to US to report that the universe is much smaller than he supposed and that God is infinitely farther away than the wings of dream and hope can carry the inquiring soul. He always came back to announce that we know only in part and should there fore prophecy only in part He said in effect that in the.uniyerse of truth horizon beyond horizon stretches in unimaginable range and splendor, constellation above constellation burns in solemn glory and system within sys
 tenn rolls in silent light, compared with whose magnifcance all that we know of day and summer is but a mitigation of darkness"